Trial set for man accused in Scott teen’s shooting death

The trial date has been set for a man charged with murdering a Scott County teenage girl.

The trial for Michael K. Davidson’s, 27, will begin July 24. Davidson is charged with the murder of 15-year-old Morgan Penn, a former freshman at Scott County Ninth Grade Center. In late August 2016, Morgan was at a sleepover at a mobile home in Stamping Ground on when Davidson fired a gun at the house, police say. Davidson pleaded not guilty to the murder charge.

Davidson is also charged with possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, four counts of first-degree wanton endangerment, fleeing or evading police, tampering with evidence and being a persistent felony offender. Davidson was apprehended and charged with murder after a police chase ended at Capital Mobile Home Park in Franklin County, according to court records.

According to a search warrant filed by the Kentucky State Police, Penn was struck in the neck by one of the bullets. Davidson, who was at the trailer earlier in the morning, got angry and threatened to return to “shoot up the place.”

A motion was also filed in early January to move Davidson from the Scott County jail to the Fayette County jail. The move would allow Davidson’s Lexington-based lawyer, Daniel Whitley, to have more frequent contact with Davidson, the motion read.

This story was originally published February 5, 2017 at 3:36 PM with the headline "Trial set for man accused in Scott teen’s shooting death."